1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk player, and more particularly to a disk player incorporating a disk changer.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
If a user wants to play a plurality of disks on a disk player, having a capacity of storing only one disk, the user must manually switch disks one after another. This manual operation is cumbersome for some users, and in addition, causes an interruption in playing A disk player, having a capacity of storing a plurality of disks, alleviates the inconvenience of having to manually switch each disk after each disk is played, but an interruption still occurs unless a stored disk can be switched with a new disk while another stored disk is playing. Some prior disk players having a capacity to store at least two disks are structured so that two disks are laid out side by side on the same thin plate; thus, when the user wants to switch one of the disks, the plate on which both disks are placed must be ejected from the player and the playing is interrupted.
In addition, prior disk players are structured so that a pickup or playing unit is placed in between the two disks which are laid out side by side on the same plate. When the user chooses a disk to play, the pickup or playing unit is moved to a corresponding location. Because the disks are laid out side by side on the same plate, the size of the plate on which two disks are placed must be at least twice the diameter of a disk. Moreover, the device must be able to move a pickup or a player, which is heavy, and thus requires a considerable amount of power. Consequently, the player becomes bigger in size and contains more complexities. As a result, the size and cost of the player become equivalent to the size and price of a player having a capacity of storing three disks, and causes such a two-disk player to be undesireable.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a disk player incorporating a disk changer that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
An object of the present invention is to provide a disk player capable of storing two disks and changing one disk while playing the other disk, with the disk player having a compact design and low manufacturing cost.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, a disk changer for a disk player is provided, comprising a drawer having a front and a back portion defining a longitudinal direction, first and second sliders attached to the drawer and moveable in the longitudinal direction, first and second carriages each for carrying a disk, each carriage being engageable with one of the first and second sliders, wherein when both carriages are engaged with the respective slider, the cages are vertically displaced with respect to each other and moveable longitudinally between the front and back portions within the drawer, and a control mechanism for effectuating the movements of the sliders. The disk changer further has a turntable, wherein the lifting mechanism places a disk carried by the carriage located in the back portion onto the turntable for playing and removes a disk from the turntable and replaces it on to the carriage located in the back portion.
The control system comprises a master cam and effectuates simultaneous movements of the first carriage from the front portion to the back portion and the second carriage from the back portion to the front portion, and a subsequent movement of the lifting mechanism to place a disk carried by the first carriage on to the turntable during a rotation of the master cam in a first direction. The movements in the opposite direction, i.e., a movement of the lifting mechanism to replace a disk carried by the turntable on to the first carriage, and subsequent simultaneous movements of the first carriage from the back portion to the front portion and of the second carriage from the front portion to the back portion are performed during a rotation of the master cam in a second direction.
Because the disk player of the present invention allows a stored disk to be taken out while the second disk is playing, interruption of playing is minimized. Moreover, because there is one carriage for each disk, disk jam caused by piling another disk on top of the disk that is playing can be prevented. In addition, to reduce the size and price and simplify the manufacturing process, the disk player is preferably equipped with a single motor that can continuously and smoothly perform all movements, from the placement of two disks to the ejection of a disk.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method for changing disks, comprising removing a first disk from a turn table where the first disk was played to place it on a first carriage located in a back portion of the drawer, simultaneously moving the first carriage from the back portion to the front portion and moving a second carriage carrying a second disk from the front portion to the back portion, wherein the first and second carriages are vertically spaced apart during the movements, and placing the second disk carried by the second carriage on to the turn table.
The disk changer of the present invention may be incorporated in optical disk players such as CD, CD-ROM, or DVD players, or players using other types of information storage media, such as magnetic disks or the like.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.